3 Easy Meals to Fix While on Vacation!

The words “cooking” and “vacation” don’t often go hand in hand. But this TravelingMom loves to cook, even on vacation. Here are 3 recipes for easy meals for vacation. The prep is quick and clean up is easy. Since food and lodging are two of the biggest expenses of any vacation, booking a place with a kitchen and cooking a few meals is an easy way to save money on your next family vacation.

Photo Courtesy: Vacatia

Easy Meals on Vacation

In a past life, I attended culinary school. I had aspirations of being a famous chef. While I followed that path for a while, I quickly determined that I didn’t want to continue. The whole “working when everyone else was off” just didn’t work for me. Not to mention the atmosphere in a commercial kitchen isn’t the most *ahem* wholesome.

Still, my culinary training has served me well. I can look in a practically bare pantry and come up with something for dinner. Going on vacation is no exception. Assuming you have booked a place with a kitchen, such as an Airbnb apartment, a resort rental or a houseswap, you’ll have a kitchen. It will have different pots and pans, but you can still cook in it.

My family and I like to eat in for a portion of our stays. After a long day out with the kids, the last thing I want to do is take them to a restaurant. When my kids are done for the day they are DONE. Sitting in a restaurant and waiting for food is the last thing that I want to do. If a few dishes need to be done at the end of a meal to keep my sanity in tact, then pass the dish soap.

Without further ado, here are three of my favorite go-to recipes while we are on vacation!

Slice cherry tomatoes in half. Toss all of the ingredients together with the dressing ( use your own judgment on the amount of the dressing) and top with the croutons. TravelingMom tip: If you are making ahead, don’t mix the lettuce in until right before time to serve, otherwise it will wilt.

You will need a medium size stock pot to boil the water for pasta, a frying pan to cook the chicken (unless you have access to a grill), a colander, and a large bowl to toss the salad together.

Before you say “my kids won’t eat that,” let me tell you – I once thought the same thing! Then one night, I just decided to give it a shot and I was shocked that my kids ate the salad…and liked it!

More Tips for Easy Meals on Vacation

If you are driving to your destination, pack a cooler with pre-made food that is easy to pop in and out of your vacation rental and grab for lunch or even a snack. Some of the foods we like to prepare ahead of time: chicken salad, tuna salad, frozen baked spaghetti or lasagna.

We’d love to hear in the comments below the easy meals that work well for your family when you decide to cook on vacation!

About Allison Taylor, Research TravelingMom

Allison Taylor loves to write and to travel! As Research TMOM she often wears her family out by over researching just about anything that she and her family are going to do! Allison has 2 boys ages 7 and 9 whose antics keep her very busy, and being married to a firefighter adds a whole other element to the chaos! You can check out her own travel blog at Family Vacations U.S.